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It looked to me like they were unable to physically step up to the playoff gear. It wasn't one or two not performing (although some looked worse than others) it was the whole team except Luo and Cory (they are the exceptions).

If AV has prepared them and they don't, or in this case, can't execute do you zing the coach who, to me, doesn't look like he's lost the room as they did finish top of league (regular season).

Mike Gillis - Are we going to toast him for the one trade? It's pretty easy to sit back with our 20/20 hindsight and not knowing exactly what went on with Cody behind the scenes. (Maybe the deal Gillis liked would have been on the table in the off season, maybe not.)

Maybe the Cody trade was intended to do two things. Get rid of a cancer in the room? Shake the team out of the unispired play we saw down the stretch? Obviously the latter did not happen, but at least an attempt was made.

Do we really think Cody would have been the difference? Would he have helped our defense stop coughing up the puck at inopportune times. Would he have been the one to heal the injuries preventing the players from preforming up to their natural, proven abilities?

People, GM's coaches and players included, do make mistakes. It's how we react to these adversities that define us. I think we'll see a fairly similar team, player name-wise (minus an awesome goalie), but with a totally different attitude and motivation in September. A long summer of rest, recovery and reflection will have our Canucks out of the gate with drive and purpose and the determination to carry it right through all 16 wins in the playoffs.

Then our question can be more positive and we can wonder who to heap the praise on. Mike Gillis, AV or the players!

It looked to me like they were unable to physically step up to the playoff gear. It wasn't one or two not performing (although some looked worse than others) it was the whole team except Luo and Cory (they are the exceptions).

If AV has prepared them and they don't, or in this case, can't execute do you zing the coach who, to me, doesn't look like he's lost the room as they did finish top of league (regular season).

It's either:

- the players played to their talent level, which means that the GM has done a poor job of assembling the team
- the players were badly prepared, which is also possible
- or the players are all "awesome" and just didn't produce

I don't think the players are "awesome" at all, in fact I've been frustrated watching this collection of bland players for several years now. AV finally couldn't get them to overachieve any longer. So, let's fire him for not being able to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.

Mike Gillis - Are we going to toast him for the one trade? It's pretty easy to sit back with our 20/20 hindsight and not knowing exactly what went on with Cody behind the scenes. (Maybe the deal Gillis liked would have been on the table in the off season, maybe not.)

One trade? Really? This has been a pretty dismal season for Mike Gillis, and it's not 20/20 hindsight if we were shocked by how bad the trades were when they happened. Look at these moves:

- signing Marco Sturm of all people to be one of your top 6. Holy ****!! NOTED AT THE TIME OF THE MOVE.
- trading for David Booth, and most importantly, taking on his $4+M cap hit. NOTED AT THE TIME OF THE MOVE.
- trading Cody Hodgson at the trade deadline when it has been frustrating for years that beyond the Sedins we don't have much offence, and in the playoffs, the Sedins struggle with the limited time and space. Yet he ignored that and signed two kids who may or may not even stick in the league and were absolutely not ready for playoff pressures in this market. NOTED AT THE TIME OF THE MOVE.
- not being able to assemble a decent second line, and for that matter, not being able to assemble cohesive third and fourth lines. I know AV made it worse with his endless line juggling, but seriously, there were few options that stood out as bonafide second, third, and fourth line players, guys you had to have on those lines because they were unbeatable in their roles. Pahlsson (too old) and Manny (playing with a serious disability) might have been great at one time, but Gillis did not think clearly when opting to go with them as key performers in their roles. And the second line fiasco has gone on for years on this club, actually back to the time of Naslund, Bertuzzi, and Morrison. NOTED ALL ALONG.

Past years:

- re-signing Mason Raymond when it was obvious he was not going to reproduce his 25 goal season. I think it's admirable that Gillis likes his players and wants to give them chances to succeed, but that is also called over-valuing. Hasn't he noticed that he doesn't get a lot of calls for a lot of his players?? Wonder why.
- acquiring Aaron Rome and Andrew Alberts may not be earth shattering considering they're both lower tier D men on the club but even at that, isn't there anything better?
- trading for Keith Ballard and his $4+M cap hit. We have almost $9M of Florida Panthers dead weight to carry for several years. Do people realize that we are stuck with these two until a year after the Sedins' contracts expire?!

The future:

- the same GM that convinced himself that Marco Sturm, David Booth, and Keith Ballard were the answers is the guy that is challenged with getting value for either Luongo or Schneider. If he gets suckered again into trading for dead weight, his career with the team will likely be over. And until this year I was a supporter of Gillis', but the failings and the stubborness he has shown are beyond belief. I don't know if he is up to the magnitude of trading one of these goalies. Ironically, what he could end up with is more of Bryan Burke's players, which will solidify the fact that Gillis has never yet really made this team his own. The core is Burke's and if he trades Luongo to the Leafs, many of the peripheral players will once again be Burke's.

Maybe the Cody trade was intended to do two things. Get rid of a cancer in the room? Shake the team out of the unispired play we saw down the stretch? Obviously the latter did not happen, but at least an attempt was made.

This is the kind of speculation that comes from the attempt at character assassination Gillis resorted to. There are NO reports at all that Cody was a cancer. He just wanted playing time and apparently did it all THROUGH HIS AGENT.

Do we really think Cody would have been the difference? Would he have helped our defense stop coughing up the puck at inopportune times. Would he have been the one to heal the injuries preventing the players from preforming up to their natural, proven abilities?

We have always known that Kesler doesn't use his teammates and that's why no one really works on his wings. Many of us were starting to ask why he didn't play wing back in training camp. Besides, the injuries he was playing with do not prevent a player from passing the puck, which is a handy thing to do in a team sport. Also, how long are we going to keep using injuries as an excuse. In a contact sport do we honestly think that every other playoff team is injury-free? Besides, just before the playoffs, the club was talking about being healthy this time around. The excuse only surfaced when they got smoked.

People, GM's coaches and players included, do make mistakes. It's how we react to these adversities that define us.

I agree. And Gillis should have realized that his team couldn't score when they got eliminated twice in the second round in his first years with the team. He should have also realized that last year's run was the aberration and that Marco Sturm was not going to be the scoring sensation the club needed.

cambob, I don't mean the harsh tone for you at all. Your post was well thought out and insightful, I've just been ****ing frustrated with this team for some time and didn't agree with your points. Sorry if my post came off too strong on you. Great to see you posting in the forum and I look forward to more posts from you.

Last edited by ink; 05-04-2012 at 12:46 PM.

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